La Fille Noire
by veghippie
Summary: The daughter of our favorite innocent convict is raised by our favorite werewolf and comes with him to Hogwarts during PoA
1. The Arduous Flight

Chapter 1- The Arduous Flight

_Bloody rain…such a nuisance, _thought Liadan as she squinted against the sharp droplets of precipitation that stung her face. And somehow she had thought that flying to Hogwarts would be an easy task. It had started raining just barely an hour into the flight and hadn't let up since. She had been in good humor about it at first, but three hours of being sopping weight and freezing cold had drained her of anything but numbness.

Of course, she had had every intention of riding the Hogwarts Express with Remus. He was her guardian, as well as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at the school, and therefore also going to Hogwarts. In fact, Remus' new job was the only reason Liadan was going to Hogwarts at all. He had already taught her everything she needed to know about magic, except perhaps Apparition. That was perhaps just a tad bit illegal, but no one was the wiser.

They had been just about to walk out the front door to head to King's Cross Station when an owl landed on the walkway, letter in beak. Liadan had been summoned to the Ministry of Magic in order to be questioned about the recent jailbreak of her father, Sirius Black. She could've laughed in the face of Cornelius Fudge himself. What could she possibly know about the jailbreak of a man she hadn't seen since she was three years old? They obviously reckoned that Liadan and Sirius would be in constant contact somehow, although Remus seethed at the mere mention of Sirius' name. Needless to say, good old Sirius wasn't exactly a hot topic of conversation in the Lupin household.

So, Liadan found herself flying on her broomstick above the countryside, looking for the bright lights of Hogwarts castle. She knew that she was close. It was an unexplainable thing, the feeling she got when she approached Hogwarts. She'd gotten the same feeling as she and Remus arrived for his job interview with the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. It was a lovely, warm feeling, akin to the feeling she got from the house she shared with Remus. But there was something else, too. Something dark and foreboding about the place. _What the hell was it? _The question often played on Liadan's mind. It was like a word she couldn't remember, but it was just on the edge of her tongue.

After just a few more painful minutes of flying, she saw the lights in the distance. Below her was the small village of Hogsmeade; she wished she could go into the Three Broomsticks for a pint of butterbeer, but continued on through the downpour. Liadan felt the tingling sensation which indicated that she had passed through Hogwarts' invisible magic barrier. It prevented unexpected visitors (or enemies, perhaps) from getting into the school.

She sighed at the prospect of the warm interior of the vast castle. Just as relief had begun to flood her limbs, it was replaced by a feeling of sheer despair. Liadan recognized the feeling immediately. Dementors. Without even a second thought as to what those horrible guards of Azkaban were doing at Hogwarts, she pulled out her wand with her right hand and held tight to the broomstick with her left. Her whole body shook as her mind raced to recall the spell that Remus had taught her. It was supposed to stop the Dementors in their tracks. Now if only she could just recall the words…

With mere moments to spare, she noticed the Dementor gliding silently towards her from behind. She went into a sharp dive, her natural skills as a flier coming in real handy. A foot above the lake, she leveled out and flew swiftly towards the school. Another Dementor approached her then, forcing her to side-shift. Her feet hit the icy water of the lake, and her breath fled from her body. It seemed that the shock of the frigid water to her system activated her brain. The spell came back to her in an instant.

"_Expecto Patronum!"_ she shrieked, her voice hoarse from disuse. A white cloud in the shape of a majestic bird alighted from the tip of her wand and flew towards the Dementors. The horrid offenders let out an unearthly scream and were gone.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, Liadan," she whispered to herself with a shaky laugh. She reached into her cloak and pulled out a piece of chocolate. After all, Remus said that chocolate could heal anything. As per usual, he was right. The chocolate spread warmth throughout her limbs and even left her feeling a bit cheerful.

_Thank Merlin for sweets_, she thought as her feet finally touched solid ground just outside the entrance to Hogwarts.


	2. Welcome Home

Chapter 2- Welcome Home

The water squelched inside her shoes as she walked up the steps to the front doors of Hogwarts. Liadan sat down on the stoop, sheltered from the rain by an overhang, and squeezed the excess water out of her dark hair. Next she tended to her ice cold feet. Pulling off her worn out sneakers, she dumped out the considerable amount of water from each shoe and then pulled off her socks to ring them out a bit. Once she felt satisfied that she'd sufficiently relieved her footwear of liquid, she pulled open the heavy wooden doors to her new home.

She felt instantly comforted by the warmth and atmosphere of the castle. The incident with the Dementors already seemed like a lifetime ago. It was only her still-wet clothes and hair that reminded her of her misfortune. Liadan found the entrance hall totally deserted, but she heard a rather large bit of commotion coming from a room that she remember to be the Great Hall. She then remembered the Headmaster mentioning something about a feast and a Sorting Ceremony that both took place on the students' first night back.

The doors to the Great Hall were heavy and took all her strength to fling them open. All conversation in the Hall stopped instantaneously. She was becoming quite self-conscious about her drowned rat appearance. However, she put on her most come-hither face and strutted forward. It was a gift that Remus said she'd inherited from her father on one of the rare occasions that he'd actually permitted her to inquire about Sirius.

She flung her broomstick over her shoulder and strolled up to Professor Dumbledore as he stood facing the students. Apparently he was just about to make a few announcements when she'd come in. Liadan smiled cheekily at her classmates and ran a hand through her straggly hair as though she was the embodiment of amazing. Already she could tell that these poor buggers would come to idolize her.

"Sorry if I'm a bit late, Professor. Little issue with the Dementors," she said, hoping that Dumbledore couldn't look past her exterior to see how shaken she actually was.

"Ah, yes, the Dementors. I was going to warn you of them, but Professor Lupin informed me that you already knew how to defend yourself properly," Dumbledore said with a knowing smile. Oh, this man was good. It was obvious that her little façade wasn't going to work on him.

"Of course. Just a little Patronus Charm and they were history," she said, with a wink to Remus. He smiled back and raised a slight eyebrow.

"History indeed. Well, while you're standing, I might as well introduce you. Everyone, this is Liadan Black. She'll be joining the Gryffindors as a Fifth Year," Dumbledore said, motioning towards a table with red and yellow banners hanging above it. A rather loud collection of cheers and hollers came from the Gryffindor table. Obviously they were proud that the girl who beat up the Dementors was a Gryffindor. She smirked slightly. Several of the Gryffindor boys broke out into rather sheepish grins.

"You may join your table now, Liadan," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye. When she'd met him over the summer, he'd expressed concern that the students might be frightened of her because of her father. Dumbledore was pleased, but Liadan knew that sooner or later the students would become scared and suspicious. It was something she'd dealt with before, and she could do it again. Just one step at a time.


	3. Potions

Chapter 3—Potions

When Liadan awoke the next morning, she smiled as memories of the feast came flooding back to her. After she'd sat down at the Gryffindor table, two boys named Fred and George (obviously twins) decided to serenade her with the appalling school song as a welcome to Hogwarts. She laughed loudly with the rest of the table and gave them both a kiss on the hand for their troubles.

Hogwarts seemed like a really nice place. Things had been rather difficult before Remus got the DADA job from a money standpoint. After all, the prejudices that still faced werewolves made Liadan sick to think about. The blind hatred was like something out of the Dark Ages. No one would hire Remus for even the most degrading of jobs. At any rate, Liadan was sure that things were looking up. Remus seemed happy, at least. When he'd gotten the letter from Dumbledore asking him to teach, he was smiling for days. And not much made him smile aside from Liadan and chocolate.

Still thinking of Remus, Liadan got up from the comfort of her warm bed and stretched her sore limbs. A girl who Liadan believed was called Patricia was also just getting up. She had blonde curly hair and kind brown eyes. In Liadan's experience, a person's eyes often told you very much about their character. She liked Patricia already.

"Do you want to eat breakfast together? Then maybe I could help you find your way to our classes?" Patricia asked in a rather shy voice. Liadan smiled kindly.

"I'd really appreciate it. Thanks…Patricia, right?" Patricia nodded, blushing. She hadn't figured that a girl like Liadan Black would remember _her_ name. But that was Liadan Black's way. She remembered people that most would fail to notice at all.

From that morning on, Liadan and Patricia were best friends. Patricia helped Liadan find the Great Hall from their dormitory and advised her on which food tasted the best. Liadan was grateful to have a helping hand, and Patricia was glad to feel needed. Sometimes, she knew that she was a bit high-strung, but Liadan seemed to have a calming effect on her. Patricia was more loquacious that morning than she had been during four whole years at Hogwarts.

Liadan's first class of the day was Potions. She could tell it wasn't going to be a picnic, judging from the depressed looks on the faces of her fellow Gryffindors. Patricia's face had lost all its color. Liadan nudged her and gave her an encouraging smile. What could possibly be so bad about a silly little Potions lesson?

She was positively steaming with rage as she exited the Potions classroom. This so-called Professor Snape was an absolute nightmare. Not only did he demean everyone who wasn't in Slytherin ("Slytherin's his own house. That's why he's so nice to the little idiots," Fred Weasley whispered in her ear as Snape was checking everyone's cauldrons), he seemed to be especially rough on Patricia. Poor little thing was shaking like a leaf throughout Snape's entire lecture.

Liadan had lost fifteen points for Gryffindor. She _accidentally_ spilled some strange acid on Snape's robes that singed and burnt up the black fabric. "Whoops," she said innocently. Snape looked around exasperatedly, as though he didn't quite know what to do. Liadan pointed her wand at his robes and murmuring a spell to stop the burning. Snape looked even more livid, if that was possible. _Jealous little moron_, Liadan thought. _He's just mad because he didn't know which spell to use._

"Hey, Liadan, Patricia!" shouted George Weasley as he exited the dungeons. Liadan and Patricia turned and waited for George to catch up. As always, Fred was close behind.

"Great show, Liadan!" Fred exclaimed, clapping her on the back.

"Yeah, you sure did make him look like a git!" George added enthusiastically.

"You're not mad at me for losing Gryffindor points?" she asked, although she already knew they wouldn't care.

"Us?" Fred asked.

"We've probably lost ten thousand points each for Gryffindor," George said, shrugging carelessly.

"That's very true," Patricia said with a sigh. George gave her a wink, and she had no choice but to smile.

"It was a small price to pay just to see the look on Snape's face when you fixed his robes for him," Fred added, doing a perfect imitation of Snape's disgusted face. All four of them laughed and headed off to Herbology, talking animatedly.


	4. A Feeling You Get Used To

Chapter 4—A Feeling You Get Used To

AN: This chapter's a little pointless…okay, a LOT pointless. But hopefully it's better than nothing. Yay for Remus being caring!

"How do you think you're going to die?" asked Patricia. Liadan had discovered that Patricia had a penchant for random morbidity, especially when trying to write Potions essays in the library. It was a little unsettling at first, but at least they were never at a loss for conversation.

"Eh, I don't really know specifically, but it'll be stylish. I just hope I know I'm gonna die the night beforehand, so I can choose my final meal wisely."

"Why would that be important? You'd be about to die!"

"My god, woman, get your priorities in order. Do you wanna die with Brussels sprouts and sardines in your gut? I would think not," Liadan remarked with her usual dramatic flair.

"Well, what would you choose?" Patricia prompted, looking slightly horrified.

"The largest box of assorted chocolates in recorded history, caramel apples, Tabasco sauce …and a fine red wine, I reckon. How about you, dah-ling?"

"Ummm…Brussels sprouts and sardines," Patricia said with a sly smile. Both girls broke into muffled giggles. Liadan accidentally knocked her pot of ink onto her nearly completed essay and quickly fixed it with a jab of her wand. This made Patricia laugh even harder.

Madame Pince came striding up to their table, barking at them to hush up or leave the Library. They opted for the latter choice. It was impossible to finish a Potions essay on such a wonderful Saturday afternoon, anyway. They headed up to their dorm, dumped their backpacks onto their beds, and walked out to the lake. The two girls were on their own that day, because the twins were out on the Quidditch Pitch for practice.

As they reached the water's edge, they both plopped down onto the soft ground. Because of the nearly perfect weather, most of the students seemed to be outside. The campus was so big, though, that it never seemed too crowded. The girls could easily talk in the shade of the nearby tree without being overheard. Liadan was sprawled on her stomach, looking out towards the lake. She remembered her first night at Hogwarts and the freezing cold of the lake water with a slight shiver. A meter away, Patricia was sitting against the large tree. Judging by the scribbling sounds coming from her direction, she was sketching something in her large sketchbook. The girls lounged in comfortable silence for awhile, just taking in the beauty of the day. Something was really eating at Liadan's mind, though.

"Y'know, Patricia, that Oliver Wood bloke has really started getting on my nerves," she sighed, trying to ignore the way the grass was itching her legs.

"He always been really nice to me, and I know Fred and George like him well enough. Why does he bother you?" Patricia said. The scribbling had stopped; she was listening now. Patricia was probably the best listener Liadan had ever met. She got the impression that Patricia didn't have many friends before she, Liadan, arrived at Hogwarts.

"He always takes the twins away from us. I know Fred and George love Quidditch, but I also know they don't want to play it every spare moment of their lives. Wood just pushes them too damn hard. Plus, all the bloke can ever talk about is that stupid sport," Liadan said with a sour face. In her world, sport was something to avoid in any way possible.

"He's really quite pleasant, though, when he'd not talking about Quidditch," Patricia said, always the optimist.

"Which is—what?—four seconds a week. He's bloody obsessive, and obsessive people are tiring." Patricia moved to sit beside Liadan, staring at her very pointedly.

"Does it bother you that he's obsessed with Quidditch…or does it bother you that he's _not _obsessed with you?" she said evenly, though with a slight dose of venom. Liadan looked up at her incredulously. Since when was Patricia so blunt?

"Well…I…you… No! I don't want that bloody meathead obsessed with me!" Liadan proclaimed, not sounding very sure of herself.

"Liadan, you know I'm your friend, so don't take this badly. Almost every boy in this school likes you. I think it really bothers you that Oliver doesn't take interest in you like the others do." Liadan gave her very best scoff and rolled over onto her back to stare at the cloudless sky and avoid Patricia's gaze.

"That's the stupidest thing I've _ever_ heard. I don't like Wood, not even as a friend. Not even close. I should throw a book at his head. Then maybe some intelligence might seep in accidentally," she said, knowing she was telling the truth about her feelings for him. She really didn't like Wood. Patricia was right, though. Liadan was used to being noticed. It's not that she was the most beautiful girl in the world; she was actually rather plain. It was her personality that caught peoples' eyes. However, Wood seemed immune to whatever charm she possessed. That was irritating.

"I never said you like Oliver," Patricia reminded her gently. Liadan stared at her for a moment, trying to decide whether she was mad or not. After a moment, she realized that she couldn't be angry at honesty.

"Oh, hey, I just realized that I need to talk to Professor Lupin about that lecture we had yesterday. I didn't understand three words out of the whole thing!" she said, trying to lighten the mood and lie convincingly at the same time.

"You're not mad, are you?" Patricia asked uneasily. Liadan smiled broadly.

"Not a chance…. I'll catch up to you later, alright?" With that, Liadan strolled away.

She walked into Remus' classroom and felt immediately at home. It reminded her so much of their house back in London that it made her heart ache for those small rooms, thin carpets, and musty curtains. "Hello?" she called, looking around at the empty classroom. Remus popped his head out of his office door, and his face lit up like Christmas.

"Hello, there. How's life treating you these days, stranger?" Remus asked, slinging an around her shoulder in greeting. She leaned her head against her shoulder and sighed.

"Patricia."

"Oh, are you two in a fight? Those kinds of things happen, you know," Remus said, studying her with concern. Liadan stepped away from him to sit on the desktop behind her. Remus perched beside her.

"No, not a fight. She's too bloody observant. That's what it is. Y'know, I thought I'd be rid of that mind-reading stuff once I got away from you. No such luck. My best friend can read me like a book, just like you can." Remus smiled and nudged her with his shoulder.

"But that's good, isn't it? You can read me as well as I can read you. It helps us figure out our faults and fix them, right?"

"Oh, come on, Remus. You and I don't have faults." They both chuckled at the obvious ridiculousness of the statement and settled into a comfortable silence. After awhile Remus spoke.

"Out of curiosity, what did Patricia tell you that was so irritatingly correct?" Liadan gave him an exasperated look.

"It's really embarrassing, Remus."

"Oh, come on, now." Liadan sighed, looking at him sharply as though daring him to laugh.

"She told me that I dislike Oliver Wood just because he's not obsessed with me." Despite her venomous look, Remus began to chuckle silently, his shoulders shaking.

"What's so embarrassing about that?"

Liadan sat silent for a moment, trying to figure out what really _was_ so embarrassing about that. She couldn't think of anything.

"Nothing. It's just…true, that's all. I've gotten used to these kids thinking I'm something special. It's hard not to be noticed." Liadan immediately regretted the last thing she said and wished with all her might that Remus wouldn't comment on it. Keeping with the theme of the day, she had no such luck.

"Since when are you feeling unnoticed?" Remus asked, all hints of laughter gone from his voice. She had forgotten how rapidly his moods could change, and it threw her off guard a bit.

"Well, with this whole…Sirius Black thing…I just…" Again, Liadan regretted her words. Remus' face had turned to stone. Remus never held grudges, not against anyone. Sirius Black was the one exception to that rule. The whole incident still tore Remus up inside whenever he thought about it. Noticing her hesitation, Remus nodded for her to continue. "I feel like the person I am isn't as important as the person who made me." Remus smiled slightly.

"It's a feeling you get used to," he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder again.


	5. Gossips

Chapter 5—Gossips

Liadan took the stairs two at a time. It was a fabulous early October day, and she didn't run into anyone on her way to the common room. They were all outside soaking up the autumn sun. She would've been right there with them, if they weren't all talking about her. That day at lunch, she'd had the most embarrassing encounter of her entire bleeding life. Rather than sit outside and be talked about, she thought she'd hide out in her bedroom for awhile—after telling Fred and George all about her misadventure, of course. They were in the common room plotting their next prank, most definitely. Maybe they would be compassionate. Not likely. But maybe…

She hopped through the portrait of the Fat Lady and jumped onto the overstuffed couch containing both ginger-haired twins. She landed heavily on their legs, and they both shrieked like little girls. After a few moments of wrestling, Fred and George were both lying prostrate on the ground with Liadan sitting atop their sadly defeated bodies.

"Do you know what just happened to me?" she gasped, rolling off of them and hopping back upon the couch. The twins sat on the floor like children at story-time and shook their heads. Liadan had a momentary spasm of flailing legs and shaking hands. It was so disgusting, she could barely function. "I mean, ew, ew, ew, ew! It's absolutely beyond abhorrent! He's so malignant, so malicious, so malevolent!"

"Leave it to you to speak like a thesaurus when we're actually _interested_ in what you have to say," George muttered, slumping his shoulders like a dejected puppy. Liadan smiled pleasantly and gave him a light smack to the back of the head.

"Excuse me, but I'm very distraught. Do you know who just asked me on a date?" she said, looking quickly from one twin to the other. They both shook their heads. "Well, I'll tell you….Marcus bloody Flint!" Fred and George burst into the loudest gales of laughter she had ever heard, and that was saying something. So much for compassion.

She threw herself over the arm of the couch and rolled back onto the floor. "I'm never going out in public again!"

"That would probably be for the best," Fred said.

"Especially with a face like yours," George added, pretending to gag.

"Invest in a paper sack, lamb," Fred concluded, smirking at his brother. Liadan ignored them, preferring instead to bang her head again the arm of the couch. _Maybe if I concuss myself, I'll forget all about this_, she thought.

At that moment, Patricia came bursting through the door, her face absolutely red. She had obviously been laughing quite hard at something. "Oh my goodness, Liadan, I just heard!"

"You know? You weren't even there! How do you know?" shouted Liadan, her already pale face draining completely of color. George crawled to her side and began to fan her face with his slim hand.

"Of course I know! People are talking about it all over the castle! Is it true you slapped him?" Patricia asked, giggling so hard it looked painful. The twins' jaws both dropped and their eyes began to gleam with pride.

"Our little Liadan?" George squeaked.

"Slapped that troll Flint?" Fred added in a reverent whisper. Liadan rolled her eyes and pushed herself off the floor.

"It was a punch, morons. Give me a medal, why don't you? I'm going to the library. Bloody gossips, every last one of you!" With that, Liadan stormed out. Patricia and the Weasleys burst into laughter yet again. Liadan paused outside the portrait hole, debating whether or not she should go back inside and give them all a firm smack but decided against it. After all, she'd be laughing about it, too, in just a few days. She knew that with certainty.

Back in the common room, Patricia was recounting Liadan's encounter with Marcus Flint, not daring to leave out a single detail. "She was eating lunch…I wasn't there, of course. I was studying in the library. But, anyway, Flint came up and asked her out. Apparently, he suggested they go to the Quidditch Pitch this evening where it was private and…" Here, Patricia lost control and began to giggle again. Fred and George's grins were growing wider and wider. "…he said they could be _alone_. Liadan said she'd rather drown herself in grease from Snape's hair and punched him."

"I think I'm in love…" Fred gasped.

"I'm flattered!" George said, batting his eyelashes.

Liadan was angry. Very, very angry. Not only had that moron Flint suggested some very disgusting things, he suggested them publicly. That was simply too much. She stormed into the library, remembering at the very last second that she'd need to fume _quietly_ under Madame Pince's vulture-like gaze.

She picked the most boring book she could find (a 1600 page deal about the Goblin revolutions or some such thing) and sat down at a table by the window overlooking the lake. As feared and expected, the grounds were absolutely teeming with little gossiping insects, using her personal misfortune as very public entertainment. She scowled sourly at her classmates and flung open the book with an obscenely loud thud.

"Hi, Liadan," came the very last voice she ever wanted to hear on a day like this.

"Oh…hullo, Oliver. What are you doing here?" she asked miserably. He looked confused for a moment and then sat down slowly, unsure if that was an invitation to join her or not.

"Just researching some historic Quidditch matches," he said briskly, gesturing to the three books he'd just set upon the table as proof. Liadan struggled to stay civil…but failed miserable.

"Of course you are. Are you ever doing anything else?" she asked, with a tad more venom that was absolutely necessary. Oliver shrugged and followed her gaze out the window with stony eyes.

"So…are you studying or just passing time?" he asked, trying to keep the conversation friendly. Liadan could tell he was skirting around something. His politeness was a little too forced.

"I'm just…you know."

"No, I don't know."

"Well, it's not really your business anyway," she snapped and instantly felt terrible. Hesitantly, she turned her eyes toward him. He was still staring stonily out the window, but there was something else, too. He was hurt. "Oliver, I'm sorry. It's not been the best day, and I didn't mean…"

"I know, I know. The Marcus Flint thing…."

"You _know_ about that? And you didn't mention it?" she asked, scrutinizing him more closely. He shrugged again.

"I have ears. I hear things, but it's none of my business…" He paused, obviously unsure of his next words. "But there's something that _is_ my business. Patricia told me that you weren't exactly fond of me. I'd just like to know why that is," he said, finally looking at her. The coldness of his look was a bit unnerving from straight-on. At the moment, though, she was simply furious with Patricia.

"I can't believe she told you that!..." Liadan's outburst was cut short by a loud "SHUSH!" from Madame Pomfrey, and she continued in a whisper, "I was just blowing off steam. I didn't mean it, really."

"You seem to say a lot of things you don't mean, from what I can tell. If you've got a problem with me, name it," he said, arching an eyebrow. Liadan looked around helplessly.

"Look, it's nothing personal. It's just…Hogwarts is new to me. I'm not used to being around lots of other kids. I'm trying to deal with it, but it's this bloody gossiping thing. I've never had to watch what I said before. Now, I say one word, and it spreads like the plague," she tried to explain, knowing that she sounded like a complete jerk. Oliver's look softened a slight bit…a very slight bit.

"You know, how hard I push my Quidditch team is none of your concern," he said, edging ever closer to a resolution. She liked the lightened tone of his voice. Maybe he wasn't as offended as he first seemed.

"I know, I know. You're completely right. I don't even like—I mean, I don't even know how to play sport. Do what you must, Captain," she said, giving a feeble smile. His mouth quirked a little at the corner. He caught her almost-bash on Quidditch, but he let it slide. Definitely a good sign.

"Not everyone here is a gossip," he said, shifting topics quite suddenly.

"Meaning yourself, I take it."

"Well, yes. I don't talk about people."

"Oh, I don't worry about you, Captain." She beamed at him, happy that he was getting past his anger. He looked just about as pleasant as normal. It was comforting to know that there was _someone_ in Hogwarts who was that easy to get along with.

"Hogsmeade is this weekend. Have you been there yet?" Oliver asked.

"Nope, not yet. I know Fred and George were planning to go with Lee Jordan, and they invited Patricia and me. Wanna come?" she asked, shutting the massive tome about the Goblin rebellions. He smiled a full smile for the first time since he'd come in.

"That could be fun," he said, pushing his Quidditch books to the side, probably for the first time in his life. "Oh, I should show you the newest racing broom…it's called the Firebolt. A work of art, truly!"

Liadan smiled despite herself and said, "A work of art? It's pretty safe to say that your concept of art and mine are very, very different, Captain."


End file.
